Let’s make things clear from the outset: contrary to what was announced, this show is not really “a tribute to the album D’eux”, this flagship opus by Celine Dion launched in 1995 and entirely concocted by Jean-Jacques Goldman. Rather, it is a love letter to the icon. Point. In total, nine extracts from the popular album are offered. Attention fans, only the songs Regarde-moi, Le ballet and Cherche encore are tablets. As for the rest of the concert, it includes six other songs by Goldman (S’il suffisait d’aimer, Dans un autre monde, Encore un soir…), two megahits in English (All By Myself, My Heart Will Go On) and three French souvenir successes, including Ziggy.
Given the context, the absence of Céline Dion weighs heavily and gives a strange atmosphere to the meeting. For several years, the Charlemagne diva has suffered from serious health problems which have kept her away from the spotlight, a reality that no guest artist was apparently unaware of. When we hear Isabelle Boulay speak directly to Céline Dion to say that “we can’t imagine a world without you”, we can hardly help but think of the worrying vagueness that hangs over the professional future of the star of Charlemagne, who has not performed since February 2020. Every “We love you Céline! » launched ardently between two numbers reinforces this strange feeling. In addition, Céline Dion’s 13 musicians responded to the call from producer Sylvain Parent-Bédard, as did his musical director, Scott Price, and his three backing vocalists. When we tell you that only one person was missing…
Directed by Jean-François Blais (Live from the Universe, Gala Artis), the TV recording is visually stunning. The aerial shots of the Agora du Port de Québec give the site a postcard look. Lasting two hours, the show is interspersed with video clips. Composed of extracts from interviews, documentaries and special programs with Céline Dion, Jean-Jacques Goldman and René Angélil, they retrace the main lines of the journey of the interpreter of Incognito. Before Amir, Bruno Pelletier and Anggun (sawtooth) cover Sous le vent, a collaboration with Garou published in 2000, we recall Céline Dion’s notable duets: Beauty and the Beast with Peabo Bryson, Tell Him with Barbra Streisand , I Hate You Then I Love You with Luciano Pavarotti… In other pre-recorded segments, we take stock of the trophies she has won, we talk about how Jean-Jacques Goldman pushed her to “disillusion”, we recall his hesitation to record the Titanic theme song, etc.
The concert took place in the presence of members of the Dion clan. His brothers and sisters (including Claudette and Jacques), his nephews, his nieces, lark. There were around fifty of them on the floor, attentive and knowing the words of each piece by heart. The camera shows the family several times during the show, most of the time to accentuate emotional moments. Shivers run through the screen during Vole, this ballad with which Jean-Jacques Goldman honors the memory of Karine, Céline Dion’s niece, who died at 16 after battling cystic fibrosis. Covered as a duet by Isabelle Boulay and Véronic DiCaire (with her real voice), the song has retained all its emotional charge, we can see when we see the Dion family wiping away their tears in front of the particularly heartfelt interpretation of the tandem.
We’ve often said it: putting on Céline Dion again is a pain in the ass. It’s better to make the song your own (but not too much!) than to try to reproduce the original version, which is difficult, if not impossible, to approach. The Pour toi Céline concert confirms this theory. In addition to Isabelle Boulay and Véronic DiCaire, impeccable on Je sais pas and In another world, Chimène Badi is doing very well. The French star shines in particular on I was waiting, accompanied by a choir. We also salute Anne Sila’s performance, both on My Heart Will Go On and Parrière païenne, which she frankly should have defended alone, without Axelle Red (with a more limited vocal range) and Vincent Niclo. Speaking of the French singer, his pop opera style is used in every way during the show, but unfortunately, the result is rarely happy, even on All By Myself, which he sings with Bruno Pelletier.
Despite his propensity to follow the teleprompter on Destin, Amir delivers a great performance, just like Claudio Capéo, whose existence we didn’t know. With a vocal signature that evokes Lewis Capaldi, this Franco-Italian should win several fans with Pour que tu m’aimes encore. As for Roch Voisine, Mario Pelchat and Corneille, we expected a lot more. Let’s say that they have already pushed the note with more ease.